Man Detained After Spending Night On Golden Gate Bridge Tower

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A person who spent the night on a Golden Gate Bridge tower is in custody this morning, a California Highway Patrol sergeant said.

Bridge traffic was briefly shut down twice this morning to search the towers for an apparently suicidal male, CHP Sgt. Diana McDermott said.

He was spotted around 6:15 p.m. Thursday on the cabling of the bridge, but went above the fog line and was no longer visible after the CHP last had contact with him around 8 p.m., McDermott said.

The fog that had obscured visibility for authorities overnight slightly lifted around 8:30 a.m. today. The span was shut down for about 10 minutes to allow the CHP to search the bridge’s north tower, McDermott said. The person was not found during that search.

Around 9:45 a.m., a second closure allowed the CHP to search the south tower, where the person was found and detained. He was being medically evaluated this morning, McDermott said.

Traffic in both directions had re-opened on the bridge as of 9:50 a.m., according to the CHP.

The bridge sidewalks were closed Thursday evening and until about 10 a.m. today, McDermott said. For pedestrians and bicyclists trying to cross the bridge, officials were at both ends of the span to call for shuttles to carry passengers across, McDermott said.